Bicentennial Charter Week Program & Reception

Join us to honor our roots in the college where it all began as we commemorate the signing of our charters in January 1819.

UC President Neville Pinto and Dr. Andrew Filak Jr., Interim Senior Vice President for Health Affairs and Dean of the College of Medicine, will speak about the past, present, future and pay homage to Daniel Drake.

Experience the debut of our historical virtual experiences. Five virtual reality vignettes designed by our own faculty, staff and students will transport you back in time to experience UC over the last 200 years.

Bicentennial Birthday Celebrations

We’ll celebrate the 200th anniversary of the signing of the charters with cake…lots of cake! Celebrations will be held at multiple campuses!

Join us to celebrate this important moment in UC’s history. Free cake, Bicentennial giveaways, birthday cards, and more will be available while supplies last. You’ll also be able to try UC’s new immersive virtual reality stations. Built by UC’s Center for Simulations and Virtual Environments Research (UCSIM), you can honor the university’s past while looking forward into the future. Available at most locations.

Learn More: Immersive Virtual Experiences

Walk through UC’s history through a series of immersive experiences developed by UC’s own Center for Simulations and Virtual Environments Research. A student-centered effort, the VR installations feature the work, from concept to completion, of students from the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning; the College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services’ School of Information Technologies; The College of Engineering and Applied Science; and the Lindner College of Business.

The design and construction of the virtual reality booths was directed by UC's offices of Planning + Design + Construction with participation from students of the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning.

The participant is whisked through time to April 9, 1959, to appear in the laboratory of Dr. Albert Sabin, the inventor of the oral-polio vaccine. Dr. Sabin asks for assistance with experiments in order to advance the distribution of the miracle-cure, including identifying the polio virus through a microscope and preparing sugar cubes for the “Sabin Sundays” vaccination events with children. This vignette commends the ingenuity of Bearcats through all eras of UC – and foreshadows additional great breakthroughs in science by UC students and staff for years to come.

The classroom is the iconic location of learning, and not only has the classroom experience changed over the university’s 200 years, so have the students and faculty. In this vignette, the participant becomes a student at the University of Cincinnati in 1819, 1919, 2019 and experiences the evolution of pedagogies and classroom technologies, as well as the changing composition of the student body. The user can celebrate the broadly diverse student body in 2019 and experience the shift from a faculty-centered learning environment in 1819 to the fully student-centered approach of modern learning pedagogies in 2019.

Since the adoption of the “Baehr-Cat” in 1914, the Bearcat mascot has been a symbol of pride and accomplishment as Bold Bearcats forge new futures at the University of Cincinnati. In this vignette, the participant becomes the Bearcat in the fall of 1924 when the James Gamble Nippert Memorial Stadium opens for the first time. The Bearcat pumps up the crowd before the big game, and participates in a variety of scenes to cheer UC students, faculty, staff as they boldly serve the Cincinnati community, the region, and the world.

Meet alumna Marian Spencer, a lifelong champion of civil rights and the first African American woman to be elected to the Cincinnati City Council. The participant learns more about Marian’s experience as a young black student at a still-segregated campus in 1939, and works with her to construct a vibrant exhibit that recalls the university’s civil rights history and commemorates the struggle to create a modern ecosystem of equity and inclusion in 2019 and beyond.

Evoking the joy a child feels playing with a miniature model train set, see the evolution of the University of Cincinnati’s campus in miniature, celebrating the different styles and architectures through the ages. In each model year, the user can pick up and play with “toy” cars, trees, and other period appropriate models and details, while learning more about the history of the UC’s award-winning campus architecture as we dial through the past, present, future.